Milk Company From Ukraine Producing 1.3 MW of Power With 4,000 Cows And a CHP System

From the former block of communist countries, Ukraine stands up and produces energy from the cow farms they own. The Ukrainian Milk Company Ltd, near Kiev, the country’s capital, has just implemented a CHP (combined heat and power) generator powered by 4,000 cows.

The generator is a gas engine produced by GE and acquired by the milk company through ZORG, a biogas plant construction company, and SINAPSE, GE’s distributor and service provider in Ukraine. The CHP is very efficient for Ukraine’s climate, which has very cold winters.

The GE JMC 312 is a containerized cogeneration model gas engine and is able to produce power to the equivalent of 1.2 million cubic meters of natural gas yearly. The company feeds the power to the grid and is getting paid a special feed-in tariff approved by the government. The CHP engine produces 625 kW of electricity and 686 kW of thermal energy, totaling 1.3 MW of power – pretty impressive for some cows.

It’s been nine months since the power plant first kicked in, and it already survived the toughest winter in the last 20 years, with temperatures constantly reaching -25 to -30 degrees Celsius. Despite these temperatures, the CHP plant worked at proper levels.

“The disposal and treatment of biological waste represents a major challenge for the waste industry. Our Jenbacher biogas-fueled gas engines improve waste management while maximizing the use of cow manure, an economical energy supply,” said Prady Iyyanki, CEO-gas engines for GE Power & Water. “We are pleased that our technology is a part of the first biogas plant in operation in the Ukraine and applaud the region for seeking new renewable and alternative ways to create cleaner energy.”

Also, the processed manure can further be used as a land fertilizer characterized by neutralizing the acid effect with a higher ph-value, keeping nutrients retained and nearly odorless.

It’s truly amazing that those cows do their regular job and generate 1.3 MW of power. China also uses chicken manure to generate energy. Little by little, such locally-installed green energy generators provide an example to others because they’re not only economical, but also productive.

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About Mila Luleva

Mila is a researcher and scientist with a great passion for soils, rocks, plants, water and all environment-related aspects of our surroundings. For the past 10 years, during the course of her educational and professional development, she travelled all over Europe, Africa and Asia, driven by her passion for the environment and urge to seek challenges.